Newsletter 57 - 香港電影資料館

香港電影資料館 Hong Kong Film Archive

米高羅格的香江舊影錄Hong Kong As It Was: Documentaries by Michael Rogge

《香港》奇談The Strange Case of Hong Kong

綠葉常青Hats Off to Unsung Heroes

新增藏品New Acquisitions

Newsletter08.2011

57Qua

rter

ly

季

刊

編者的話 Editorial@ChatRoom

Hong Kong Film Archive

Head Richie Lam

Section Heads

Admin & Alex SuenVenue Mgt

IT Systems Lawrence Hui

Acquisition Wendy Hau

Conservation Koven Lo

Resource Centre Chau Yu-ching

Research Po Fung

Editorial Kwok Ching-ling

Programming Sam Ho

Newsletter

Issue 57 (August 2011)

Editor Kwok Ching-ling

English Editor Elbe Lau

Asst Editors Cindy Shin

Vinci To

50 Lei King Road,

Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong

Tel: 2739 2139

Fax: 2311 5229

E-mail: [email protected]

Design: Be Woks ~

Printing: Friendship Printing Co Ltd

© 2011 HKFA All rights reserved.

www.filmarchive.gov.hk

國際電影資料館聯盟成員A member of the International Federation of Film Archives

「綠葉常青──李香琴、羅蘭、雷鳴、王萊」、「修復珍藏」、「歡樂早場」等節目詳情見《展影》及資料館網頁。For details of HKFA programmes please refer to ProFolio and our website.

封面：米高羅格

Cover : Michael Rogge

2011 香港電影資料館版權所有，翻印必究。©

香港電影資料館

館長林覺聲

部門主管

行政及場地管理組孫毅思

資訊系統組許錦全

搜集組侯韻旋

修復組勞啟明

資源中心周宇菁

研究組蒲　鋒

編輯組郭靜寧

節目組何思穎

第57期（2011年8月）

編輯郭靜寧

英文編輯劉勤銳

助理編輯單識君

杜蘊思

香港西灣河鯉景道50號

電話：2739 2139

傳真：2311 5229

電郵：[email protected]

設計：Be Woks ~

印刷：和記印刷有限公司

鳴謝：金公主娛樂有限公司、星空華文傳媒電影有限公司、雷鳴（國際）電影貿易公司、BearManor Media、米高羅格先生、吳文亮先生、阮紫瑩女士、阮蘭絲女士、法蘭賓先生、周永年先生、徐翰祥先生、張羨英博士、陳彬先生、馮秉仲先生、馮浩然先生、馮煒源先生、黃志輝先生、黃握中先生、藍天雲女士、羅卡先生、蘇芷瑩女士、Mr Ben OhmartAcknowledgements: BearManor Media, Fortune Star Media Limited, Golden Princess Amusement Company Limited, Lui Ming (International) Film Enterprises, Mr Frank Bren, Mr Chan Pun, Dr Cindy Cheung, Mr Chow Wing-nin, Mr Gordon Fung, Mr Owen Fung, Mr Weldon Fung, Mr Law Kar, Mr Alfred Ng, Ms Grace Ng, Ms France Nuyen, Mr Ben Ohmart, Mr IJsbrand Cornelius Rogge, Mr Felix Shu, Ms Karen So, Mr Wong Chi-fai, Mr Wong Nguk-chung, Ms Yuen Tsz-ying

搜集組不斷報捷，成功取得多宗大宗影片捐贈，每每請他們多談箇中機緣。近期好幾項多

年的「悉心栽種」有成，蘇芷瑩撰文先細說一二（頁14-15），我們翹首以待這些且容陸續道來

的故事。

歸入館藏，可說是影片「另一段人生」的開始。米高羅格將五十年代居港時拍下的影片影

像複製贈予本館，藍天雲的訪問文章（頁3-6），梳理出清晰的誕生背景，加深觀者對這批影像

的認識，也記下了早至1950年代初香港的影會活動。

日常遇到熱誠的電影研究者，往往敬佩他們鍥而不捨的精神，對資料館的工作裨益甚大，

當中一位法蘭賓先生，甚至堪稱「偵探」。他搜尋資料鉅細無遺，且樂於與同好共賞，無私地

大力協助他人。他以他獨特的觸覺，發掘《香港》（1960-1961）一劇的香港根源，饒有趣味

（頁7-12）。

無論是搜集、研究整理，以至放映展覽，都得本地以至外地各方人士的支持，我們才可以

在電影歷史峰巒連綿的圖陣中攀過一個又一個的嶺峰，而一部部踏入「另一段人生」的影片，

會接續以保存下來的原貌在新世代跟大家見面。[[email protected]]

Recently, our Acquisition Team has scored many successes in securing supersized donations. Here,

Karen So writes on one of such endeavours which had taken years to come to fruition (pp 14–15). And

there’s more to follow.

A film, once becoming a part of the Archive collection, embarks on a ‘new phase of life’. Filmmaker

Michael Rogge put onto celluloid his life in Hong Kong in the 1950s, and donated to us earlier a

duplicate copy of the footage. Grace Ng’s interview with him sheds light on how these images came

about (pp 3–6). His filmic remembrances also offer a glimpse of the cine clubs in the then colony.

While the success of our work owes much to the efforts of film researchers, it is their dedication

and steadfastness that wins our utmost respect. One of such heroes is Mr Frank Bren, our ‘film

detective’. Searching for clues big and small, he is always willing to share his findings and assist

others selflessly in their studies. With his unusual flair and sense of humour, he traces the Hong Kong

connections of the American-made television series Hong Kong (1960–1961) (pp 7–12).

From acquisition to research to screening to exhibition, we need the support of film enthusiasts

from all over the world, without which we could not have climbed over one peak after another in the

rugged terrains of cinema history. And all the archival films, now in their ‘new phase of life’, will greet the

future generations with their glory intact. [[email protected]]

《通訊》

3

特稿 Feature

六十一年前，也就是1949年，

二十歲的米高羅格 (Michael

Rogge，本名IJsbrand Cornelius

Rogge )，為了生計，離開家鄉荷

蘭，獨自來到舉目無親的香港，在

中環一家荷蘭銀行就職，展開星期

一至六，朝九晚七的白領生涯。由

於自小熱愛攝影和電影，又答應了

家人，要將異地生活的點滴拍攝下

來，寄回荷蘭報平安，於是他利用

工餘閒暇，走遍這個陌生的城市，

拍攝紀錄片。從英女皇加冕巡遊的

盛況、街頭巷尾的平民生活，到虎

豹別墅與佛教法事等，甚至拍了一

段當年片場拍戲的情況。這些紀錄

片內容廣泛，既有民間生活的寫

實，也有對這座城市的感性抒懷，

從影像中可以感受拍攝者對香港的

感情。

拍攝紀錄片之餘，米高與一些

志同道合的朋友─主要都是來自

西方的僑民，於1952年成立了香港

業餘電影會，交流拍片心得之外，

也主辦比賽和舉行放映活動。從現

存資料來看，這可能是戰後香港最

早期的電影會。

1955年米高被銀行調派往日

本工作，從此作別香港。三十多年

後，舊地重遊，不但人面全非，桃

花亦不知所終，他已完全不認得這

個曾「在此度過人生中最美好的時

光」的地方。可幸當年美好的時光

已一一被攝入鏡頭，成為彌足珍貴

的回憶。獨樂樂不如與眾樂，米高

將當年在香港拍攝的紀錄片製成

DVD，贈送予香港電影資料館，

讓大眾與他一起回顧昔日的香江舊

貌。

米高現居荷蘭，經常將當年拍

攝的香港與列國風光上載到互聯網

上，與人分享。去年，香港電影資

料館以電郵的形式訪問他，請他細

談當年工餘拍攝紀錄片和組織電影

會的苦與樂，從中可看到戰後本地

電影活動的另一種面貌，也是對本

地電影歷史的一種補白。

童年、戰爭與電影

我對電影最早的記憶，大約是一

歲左右時，坐在母親懷裡，看著父親

在操作一部手搖的35毫米放映機。

十二歲時，我開始直接在空白的35毫

米菲林上畫動畫。父親後來在拍賣行

買來一部35毫米放映機和一些影片，

從此我不時會邀請朋友或親戚來家

裡，舉行電影之夜。曾有人送我一部

柯達攝影機，不過到戰時卻買不到菲

林了。我十分喜歡電影和攝影，戰時

卻被迫放棄，只好改為閱讀大量相關

的書籍，聊作補償。戰後我叔父送了

我一部Kine-Exakta攝影機，後來我在

香港也曾用來拍片。1948年我首次自

己買了部攝影機，是二手的Alef 9.5

毫米攝影機，用它來拍了一些片。

戰後我們的家境不大好，雖然我

想繼續上大學，但家人卻希望我開始

工作。於是我找到一份銀行工作，於

1949年9月被派來香港。現在回想起

來，也未嘗不是好事，工作使我有收

入，讓我可以做自己喜歡的事。

異國的生活

剛來香港時，我對這個地方一無

所知，也不知是個英國殖民地。除了

銀行的同事，我在香港也沒有親友，

銀行的工作時間很長，每天七時下

班，星期六也要上班，只有星期天放

假。

離開荷蘭時，我父親患病，於是

我答應家人，將香港的生活和見聞，

拍成影片寄回去給他們看，讓他們知

道我的情況。於是我利用工餘時間來

拍片，定期寄回家。因為拍片我認識

了一些也是喜歡拍電影的人，還有些

在此定居的荷蘭人。1952年我加入了

中英電影小組，他們會放映些世界名

片，有時還會放映沒有字幕的法語電

影。我也參與一點會務，並曾擔任過

臨時主席。

Hong Kong As It Was: Documentaries by

Michael Rogge

米高羅格的香江舊影錄

藍天雲 Grace Ng

4 HKFA Newsletter August 2011

除了拍片外，我也喜歡聽唱片。

我們的假期不多，有時會與同事一起

去游泳或遊車河之類，我也去過大嶼

山。此外也沒有其他的活動，因為我

對運動或跳舞之類沒甚麼興趣，時間

主要還是花在拍片上。

十項全能

剛來到香港，我就馬上開始拍片

了，當時用的是9.5毫米菲林。第一

部拍的片是《從半山步行到中環》，

有部分鏡頭是我一位同事按我的指示

拍的。後來有些短片，裡面也會見到

我出鏡，同樣是由別人代我掌鏡的。

有人指出過，我在同一條片裡穿不同

的衣服。我很少剪片，當時菲林十分

昂貴，九成的影片我都會用，不會浪

費。一卷菲林如果還沒有用完，我也

不會拿去沖印的。我最具野心的作品

應是1952年的《雨》，那是一部用16

毫米拍的黑白片，後來在影會的比賽

中獲首獎。

荷蘭有個電影人拍過一部叫

《Regen》（Rain）的影片，啟發了

我拍一部雨中香港的影片。後來我又

拍了《日出》，描述這個城市在晨曦

中甦醒過來，作為對

照。拍這部片時發生

了一件小趣事，我在

赤柱拍攝時，無意中

闖進了軍營，被英軍

拘留，送往中環。後

來得到香港業餘電影

會的會員幫忙解釋，

最後獲得釋放。至於

《逆流》，是有故事

的，以一個水上人

家的男孩為主角，背景是油麻地避風

塘，劇本是我自己寫的。

除了拍攝之外，我包辦了所有的

製作程序，包括剪接和配音。當年攝

影機都是不能錄音的，為影片配音難

度極高。我特地從英國訂購一部錄音

機，可以跟放映機同步，為影片配上

旁白和音樂。這些工序都是我在家中

自己做的，方法十分原始。我從美國

訂購一些音效唱片，裡面有各種不同

的聲音，像打字機聲、潑水聲等。早

年的業餘電影人，都是用這些現成的

音效來配音的。至於

中樂，我是到一間賣

中樂唱片的店裡，聽

了幾張唱片後，選了

其中兩張來用。

影會的同仁認

為拍攝《香港加冕慶

典1953》是個很好

的宣傳機會，雖然

會員中不乏跟政府

機構和官員有密切關

係的人，但拍攝時我們沒有得到官方

的幫助，我甚至要自掏腰包來沖印拷

貝。我們邀請擁有16毫米攝影機的會

員負責拍攝，沿著巡遊路線安排好拍

攝地點。巡遊結束後，所有影片交回

影會，由執委負責選片和剪輯，然後

再送往倫敦，沖印成16毫米與8毫米

的拷貝。這部影片後來在Cinex、Asia

The year was 1949. In order to

support his parents, 20-year-

old IJsbrand Cornelius Rogge, better

known as Michael, left his home

in Holland to work in Hong Kong,

where he had no friends or relatives

at all. There began his Monday-to-

Saturday, 9-to-7 existence working at

a Dutch bank in Central District.

Photography and filmmaking

had always been a hobby ever since

he was a child, and Rogge would

walk through the unfamiliar city

with his cameras. The documentaries

he made would be sent back home as

a means to keep his family posted on

his life. Captured in his lenses were

the myriad faces of the then colony:

processions during the Queen’s

coronation ceremony, everyday street

scenes, Tiger Balm Garden, Buddhist

rituals, and even the happenings on

a film set. The wide range reflected

everyday life as it was and also

conveyed the warmth of the feelings

he had for this city.

Rogge also set up the Hong Kong Amateur Cine Club in 1952 with some l ike-minded friends, mostly residents from the West, l i k e h imse l f . They exchanged creative ideas and held contests and screenings: it was probably the first cine club in postwar Hong Kong.

In 1955, Rogge was posted to Japan and had to bid Hong Kong farewell. Some 30 years later, when he visited the city again, he was disappointed to find his home totally different. No longer could he recognise the place where he, in his words, spent the best years in his life. Thankfully, some of Rogge’s fondest memories had been preserved on celluloid.

A joy shared is doubled. Rogge put the documentaries onto DVD, donated a set to the Hong Kong Film Archive, and today, members of the public are able to walk down his

memory lane.

Now living back in Holland,

Rogge has continued to make his

images of Hong Kong, Japan and

other locations available on the

Internet. Last year, the Film Archive

conducted an e-mail interview with

him, in which he discussed joys and

pains of creating documentaries and

forming cine clubs. His recollections

reveal little-known developments

of Hong Kong’s postwar film scene,

filling in a gap in cinema history.

Childhood, war and film

My first memory of film dates back to

the time when I was barely a year old.

In my mother’s lap, I saw my father

turning the crank of an old 35mm

projector. When I was 12, I began

making cartoons by drawing on blank

film strip. Later, my father bought me a

35mm projector and some film prints.

From then on, I would invite friends

and relatives over for a home movie


《逆流》Turn of the Tide

5

Photo Supplies及多個地方出售。

一般來說，我將9.5毫米的黑白片

送到英國的Pathescope沖印，在香港

柯達公司購買的16毫米Kodachrome彩

色菲林，則要送往夏威夷沖印。至於

16毫米影片的拷貝，就要送往倫敦的

Colour Film Services印製。這些拷貝

在公司結業時遺失了。

我的作品曾在香港的荷蘭人社區

內放映，有些也曾送往英國和日本放

映，不過這都是五十年代的事了，其

後我只在私人聚會中放映。

影會

香港業餘電影會於1952年成立，

發起人是《南華早報》的A.G .斯特

利，可是後來他很少參與會務發展。

會員中肯華特森很積極參與，每星

期的例會，都是在他位於畢打街的

Gainsborough Studios內舉行的，他

是攝影師和拍賣商。其他會員我都記

不起來了，只記得有個很有錢的印度

商人，其他人都是來自銀行和商界的

中層管理人員。影會是公開的，人人

都可以參加，《南華早報》經常也有

為我們宣傳。會員中也有華人，不過

以外國人為主，由於他們並非長居香

港，所以會員的來去頗為頻仍。

影會除了定期開會外，間中也

有放映活動。會員在入會時要交入會

費，然後每月交會費，作為影會的經

常收入。

至於中英電影小組，主要由一

群熱衷的影迷組成，他們會租用電影

院來放映電影。該會曾拍了一部短片

《香港荷里活1950》，可能是其中一

位執委跟片場裡的人認識而安排的，

這是我記憶中該會唯一的一次出外拍

攝。關於這個影會，我保留下來的資

料並不多，現在只剩下一些會議紀

錄。

香港政府曾建議我成立一個電影

拍攝小組，拍攝紀錄片。肯華特森也

提出過這個想法，但要由我獨力承擔

資金和營運，這使我裹足不前。後來

1958年我在日本嘗試這麼做，結果兩

年後虧本收場。當時沒有甚麼地方放

映紀錄片，電視還是方興未艾，成立

拍紀錄片的小組時機尚未成熟。

舊地重遊

我在香港住了六年，可說度過

了人生中最美好的時光。我的業餘嗜

好，帶給我滿足感，中國人非常喜歡

我拍的紀錄片。到了日本之後，我展

開人生的新階段，除了肯華特森之

外，與其他的會員都失去聯絡了。當

我三十年後重遊香港時，只能聯絡

到他，我們一起飲茶舊。我很喜歡

他，現在還記得他一直以來給我的幫

助。

藍天雲　影評人，曾任香港電影資料館項目研

究員，文章收錄於《李晨風─評論•導演筆

記》、《故園春夢─朱石麟的電影人生》等

書籍，編有《張愛玲：電懋劇本集》及《我為

人人　中聯的時代印記》等。

every now and then. One day, I was

given a Kodak box camera, but film

stock was no longer available during

the war years. I loved moviemaking and

photography, but had to lay them aside

then. All I could do was to devour

related books to ease my craving.

Soon after the war, my uncle

gave me a Kine-Exakta camera, which

I used to photograph later in Hong

Kong. In 1948, I bought myself my first

camera – a second-hand 9.5mm Alef

movie camera. With it, I took a couple

of films.

Times were hard after the war. I

wished to go to university, but my family

wanted me to work. So I landed a job

at a bank, and was posted to Hong

Kong in September 1949. Looking

back, it was a blessing in disguise:

I earned myself the opportunity and

means to further my interests.

Exotic life? Work life!

I hardly knew anything about Hong

Kong when I first arrived. I didn’t even

know it was a British colony! Apart

from my colleagues at the bank, I had

no friends or relatives here. The hours

were long at the bank. The workday,

including Saturday, ended at 7pm.

Sunday was the only rest day.

My father was sick at the time I left

Holland, so I promised my family to film

myself and send home the footage so

that they would know how I was doing.

I spent my spare time filming my life in

Hong Kong and sent my work home

regularly. In the process, I got to know

other people who shared an interest

in moviemaking, as wel l as some

Dutchmen who had settled down in

Hong Kong. In 1952, I joined the Sino-

British Film Group. They would show

some world classics, even French

pictures without subtitles! I had a part

in its day-to-day administration and

served as chairman for a period.

Besides making movies, I also

liked listening to music on records.

I had few hol idays, and on these

i n f r equen t days , I ’ d some t imes

go swimming or d r i v ing w i th my

colleagues, and I went to Lantau Island

too. Those were my only pastimes, as

sports or dancing didn’t quite interest

me. I spent most of my free time doing

films.

Mr Do-it-all

I started shooting soon after I arrived

in Hong Kong. The stock I used was

9.5mm. My first film was Strolling from

Mid-levels to Hong Kong Central . Part

of it was taken by my colleague while I

gave instructions. Next came a couple

of shorts in which I appeared on

screen; again I had someone work the

camera for me. I was told I had worn

different clothes in the same film!

Seldom would I edit anything out

of my footage. Film stock cost a bundle

in those years. I made use of 90 per

cent of the material, and I wouldn’t

have a roll of film developed until it

5


was all used up. My most ambitious

project would have been Rain (1952),

a 16mm black-and-white piece. It won

first prize at a Cine Club contest.

There was this Dutch filmmaker

who had made a movie called Regen,

or Rain , which gave me the idea of

filming Hong Kong amidst the rain.

As a contrast, I later shot Sunrise

which saw the city waking up. There

w a s a f u n n y

e p i so de when

I w a s w o r k i n g

on t ha t one . I

was shooting in

Stanley one day,

and I unknowingly

trespassed into

the British military

c a m p . I w a s

d e t a i n e d a n d

brought back to

Central District,

and although I tr ied to explain my

intentions, it was thanks to members

of the Cine Club who spoke for me

that I was finally released.

Turn of the Tide has a plot. Set

in the Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter, it

features a young boy from a family

who live on a boat. I wrote its script,

too. On top of the filming and writing,

I did everything, such as editing and

dubbing. In those days, no camera

could record sound, and dubbing was

a difficult thing to do. I had ordered

a tape recorder from England which

cou ld be synchron ised wi th the

projector, and with it, added narration

and music. I did all of this at home,

working very simply. I also bought

records with all sorts of sound effects,

such as a typewriter, water splashes

and so on; amateur fi lmmakers all

used ready-made sounds then. As for

Chinese music, I listened to several

records in a shop and bought two

of them. I heard they’re hard to find

nowadays.

Friends at the Cine Club thought

f i lm i ng Hong Kong Co rona t i on

Festivities 1953 would be a good way

to publicise the club. Some of us were

friendly with government agencies and

officials, yet we had no government

backing at all on the project. I paid

out of my own pocket to have the

prints struck. We invited members with

16mm cameras to do the filming, fixing

ahead of time the shooting points

along the procession route. When the

event was over, all the footage was

handed over to us in the committee

for selection and editing before it was

sent to London for printing both 8 and

16mm copies. The

film was later sold at

Cinex, Asia Photo

Supplies, and many

other places.

For the most

part, I would send

the 9.5mm black-

and-white negative

t o P a t h e s c o p e

i n E n g l a n d f o r

p r ocess i ng ; t he

16mm Kodachrome colour negative I

bought from Kodak Hong Kong would

have to be processed in Hawaii. The

16mm prints could only be struck at

Colour Film Services in London, and

all of these copies were lost for good

when the company closed down.

My films were screened to the

Dutch communities in Hong Kong, and

some toured England and Japan. But

that lasted only until the 1950s. I only

held private screenings thereafter.

Cine clubs

The Hong Kong Amateur Cine Club

was founded in 1952 by A.G. Staley

of the South China Morning Post, yet

he was rarely involved in its running in

the later days. Particularly active among

the members was photographer-cum-

auctioneer Ken Watson, who provided

the venue for the weekly assembly:

his Gainsborough Studios on Pedder

Street. I no longer remember the other

members, except a wealthy Indian

trader; all the others were middle-

ranked administrators from the banking

and business sectors. Membership

was open to all. SCMP had given us

quite some publicity. Most members

were fore igners, and some were

Chinese. As foreign residents didn’t live

in Hong Kong for too long, comings

and goings were rather frequent.

Apart f rom regular meet ings,

the Club sometimes also mounted

screening programmes. There was

a joining fee for new members, and

a monthly contribution as the Club’s

recurrent income.

The Sino-British Film Group was

an association formed by film buffs.

They would rent theatres and fi lm

prints for public showings. There was

this short movie called Hong Kong

Hollywood 1950 , which was made

possible by a committee member who

had contacts in a film studio. That was

the only production by the Group, as

far as I remember. Little has remained

with me about this Group, except

some meeting minutes.

The Hong Kong Government

had asked me to start a film unit to

produce documentaries. Ken Watson

raised the same idea, but I had to

finance and run the unit all by myself.

That held me back. Later in 1960, I

was in Japan and left the bank for a

film career, but ended up losing my

money. Back then, there was hardly

any outlet for documentary films and

TV had yet to get off the ground. The

timing was off.

Back again

The six years I spent in Hong Kong

were the best years of my life. I found

fulfilment there, and the Chinese have

liked my films more than anyone else.

Later in Japan, I was occupied with

my new phase of life and I lost contact

with everyone in Hong Kong except

for Ken Watson. When I visited again

some 30 years later, in 1989, he was

the only Cine Club friend who was still

in Hong Kong. We had tea together.

I like him a lot, and I still remember

how helpful he had been. (English version

collated and translated by Elbe Lau; edited by

Madeleine Slavick)

Grace Ng is a film critic and former Project Researcher of the HKFA. She is the editor of Eileen Chang: MP & GI Screenplays and One for All: The Union Film Spirit.

《香港荷里活 1950》Hong Kong Hollywood 1950

7

特稿 Feature

The Strange Case of Hong Kong《香港》奇談

法蘭賓 Frank Bren

T rappings of the James Bond films,

before that famous franchise hit our

screens with Dr No (1962), were very

much alive in the now-forgotten television

series, Hong Kong (US, 1960–1961).

Hong Kong rates as Hollywood’s

greatest love affair with the territory, even

more so than Richard Quine’s film, The World of Suzie Wong (1960), whose 50th

anniversary last year included receptions

in Hong Kong for i ts star, Nancy

Kwan. Hong Kong had it all: uniformly

good acting, humour, violent action,

sophisticated women to love or entrap

the protagonist, nods to old movies like

The Maltese Falcon (1941), Cold War

politics, brilliantly cast villains, and one

shocking episode (Jumping Dragon,

Episode 6), that – like Alfred Hitchcock’s

Psycho (1960) – killed off a sympathetic

heroine (Taina Elg) uncomfortably before

the end. The episode co-starred Hong

Kong’s Anita Loo.

With hindsight, even its leading

man, Rod Taylor, would have proved

a worthy Bond – good actor, ‘rugged’

good looks, charm and a facility for

convincing tough-guy screen action,

including his own stunt work. He

learned and spoke Cantonese liberally

throughout the series’ 26 episodes

and filmed some of his scenes during

a visit to Hong Kong in June/July

1960.

You can see a palpable yearning

for the return of this series at the click

of a button online.1 Unfortunately its

owner, 20th Century Fox, has ‘no

plans’ to exploit the series on video.2

Hong Kong never saw Hong Kong

At least, I find no evidence that it ever

did.3

A p i t y, because t he se r i e s

attracted ‘guest’ stars of the calibre of

singer Julie London, Lisa Lu (The Arch,

Hong Kong, 1969), Inger Stevens,

Luciana Paluzzi, Dina Merrill, Rhonda

Fleming4 and the original Suzie Wong

of Broadway,5 France Nuyen (South

Pacific, 1958) who was romantically

linked with Taylor at the time of Hong Kong’s production.

Daring images

Vigorous Chinese scrutiny of American

films in the 1920s and 30s did not

much affect contemporary Hong Kong

but in 1960 it was a recent enough

memory for commentators to ponder

how Hollywood’s television treatment

of contemporary Hong Kong stood up.

As a s imp le t rade p rob lem,

Ch ina ’s ea r l i e r anger a t ce r ta in

American fi lms concerned the US

Government , whether pro tested

for reasons of ‘superstit ion’ (Cecil

B. DeMille’s King of Kings, 1927) or

objectionable depictions of Chinese

people (Raoul Walsh’s The Thief of Bagdad, 1924,6 and Harold Lloyd’s

Welcome Danger , 1929 ) . 7 Mo re

complex reasons af fected Frank

Capra’s The Bitter Tea of General Yen

(1933) and Lewis Milestone’s The General Died at Dawn (1936).

Perhaps Richard Shephard of The

《香港》印象 02•混合媒介•黃志輝作 Hong Kong Impressions, 02 by Wong Chi-fai (mixed media)

7


New York Times (10 December 1960)

had all that in mind. Of late, he said,

Hong Kong had ‘a rather daring image

on television, stage and screen,’ what

with its namesake airing weekly across

the US on the ABC television network

p l us t he B roadway and sc reen

successes of The World of Suzie

Wong. He quizzed Kyatang Woo, then

editor of the Hongkong Tiger Standard

and a Hong Kong consultant for ABC,

on what he really thought of the series.

Were the arts doing the right thing by

his hometown?

‘Never mind good or bad,’ joked

Woo. ‘Just spel l the name r ight. ’

‘American television’s “Hong Kong”’,

he added, ‘was as “real” or “false” as

New York City in, say, a hypothetical

Hong Kong crime film shot in New

York. Dramatic licence, you know.’8

Real streets of Hong Kong

Romance between Hollywood the

photographer and its subject Hong

Kong bloomed in 1955–1960 with at

least two attempts to ‘star’ the territory

in a popular television series.

A c c o r d i n g t o I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Screen #7 (Hong Kong, April 1956), a

Hollywood television unit had ‘recently

arrived in Hongkong with the intention

of f i lming 30 T.V. short subjects

under the general topic of Hongkong

Deadline.’ The unit, with star Jim Davis,

is pictured on location somewhere in

Kowloon surrounded by interested

onlookers. Despite other (US) evidence

of this dramatic series in progress, it

seems never to have gone to air but

International Screen ’s report and the

apparent ‘newspaper story’ framework

strangely foreshadow Hong Kong.

More successfully, widescreen

co lou r mov ies l i ke Suz ie Wong

(1960), Henry King’s Love is a Many-

Splendored Thing (1955) and Edward

Dmytryk’s Soldier of Fortune (1955)

star the real Hong Kong, gorgeous as

never before and perhaps never since

save by a high-definition re-experience

of those films on video.

As Jane Rober ts , rev iew ing

Soldier of Fortune for China Mail (16

July 1955) wrote: ‘Hongkong is the

real star…and how photographic

and cooperative she is…. This lovely

island, its surroundings, its people,

both ashore and af loat, are such

natura l camera studies that very

few synthetic touches have been

necessary after the location shots

had been taken back to Hollywood for

editing.’

Soldier of Fortune…and Grace Chang

It was in this spirit that, in 1960, the

Hong Kong television series arose with

an unusual central star in Rod Taylor,

then a veteran of US teleplays and

many support roles

in respected US films

of the 1950s (e.g.

Edward Dmytryk ’s

Ra i n t r ee Coun t y ,

1957). Having just

star red in George

P a l ’ s T h e T i m e Machine (1960), he

had also proved a

leading f i lm actor,

equally adept at light

comedy or drama

in that difficult actor-

terrain occupied at

the top by the likes of Cary Grant.

Hong Kong would finally make him a

sought-after leading star in American

c inema fo r a decade – the f i rs t

Australian actor to achieve that since

Errol Flynn.

Hong Kong somehow became

a black-and-white 'Mean Streets' down which our hero, Amer ican

newspaperman Glenn Evans (Taylor),

clawed his way through beatings,

murders and obligatory romances, a

new one each week, with sophisticated

Caucasian and Asian women, while

chasing a good story. It retained links

with its more lavish model, Soldier of Fortune , also by 20th Century Fox,

even using some of its actors like

Jack Kruschen and Richard Loo. The

respective leading characters (via Clark

Gable and Taylor) commonly enjoyed

a prickly, humorous relationship with

a top British Hong Kong cop (Michael

Rennie in Fortune, Lloyd Bochner in

Hong Kong), and both had bachelor

apartments on the Peak.

‘Hong Kong’ here is part real,

part dream, taking a fi lm noir cue

from the Cold War novel, Soldier of Fortune (1954), by Ernest Gann

who wrote the screenplay for its film

adaptation. Mainland China, wrote

Gann, could easily recapture Hong

Kong at any time: ‘Everyone knew this,

including the British, who could not

afford to admit it.’ Soldier (book and

film) exploited a ‘red’ paranoia more

intensely felt in 1955 than in 1960, but

‘red’ Chinese villains do

surface in Hong Kong.

O f s p e c i a l n o t e

i s t he appea rance o f

Grace Chang (Go Lan) in

Soldier – her Hollywood

debut, uncredited but in

an early dialogue scene as

a mysterious ‘sampan girl’.

It seemed that Chang’s

Hollywood career might

happen that year when,

in March 1955, the ailing

Yung Hwa Studio (Hong

Kong) announced plans

for a Sino-American co-production,

Red Knot, made in English and to star

‘Ko Lan [sic], a local Mandarin movie

actress’.9 But nothing further was

heard of Red Knot.

Authenticating ‘Hong Kong’

20th Century Fox went to Hong Kong,

star Taylor too, from mid-June to mid-

July 1960. Taylor, who flew back to

the US on 13 July, told the Hongkong Tiger Standard 10 how impressed

he was by the terr i tory, above al l

Wanchai, the Peak, the cheongsam

(‘one thing they haven’t got enough of

in Hollywood’) and his own discovery

of Chinese ‘ways and customs’. He

meanwhile publicly urged the writers to

eschew clichéd ‘Fu Manchu’ elements,


澳籍荷里活影星洛泰萊Rod Taylor: an Aussie in Hollywood

99

though only partly successfully.

Taylor’s formation as a Sydney

radio actor probably helped his quick

absorption of Cantonese for this series

predominantly fi lmed in the studio

backlots of Los Angeles where the

producers cut in segments of their

‘50,000 feet’ of film shot in Hong Kong

including a real Hong Kong police

raid involving Taylor on-camera. The

address of Taylor ’s/Evans’ swank

apartment was ‘24 Peak Road’ whose

real location – then as now (take a

bus along Peak Road and see) – was

a sheer drop from the road’s cliff side

edge!

Hong Kong-educated Mai Tai

Sing, whose cocktai l lounge, The

Rickshaw, was a popular nightspot

for show people in San Francisco,

bec ame a sem i - r egu l a r. Some

weeks into production, as a new

dr ink ing hangout fo r Evans, the

writers invented the Golden Dragon

Supper Club run by ‘Ching Mei’ (Mai

Tai Sing). ‘There weren’t that many

jobs in Hollywood for Asian actors at

the time,’ notes Stephen Vagg, the

author of a new book on Rod Taylor.11

‘Hong Kong offered them valuable

employment. Rod would have been

all for it; he went out with France

Nuyen and later married a Japanese-

American.’

Premiere 1960 and France Nuyen

Hong Kong premiered prime-time on

the ABC network from Wednesday,

28 September 1960, at 7:30pm. Ida

Lupino directed that episode, Clear for

Action, co-starring France Nuyen who

broke new ground for postwar Asian-

American actors as film/television stars

in their own right. Ms Nuyen, instantly

a star from her screen debut in Joshua

Logan’s South Pacific (1958) kindly

recalled Hong Kong, her first television

experience, for this article:

‘With the Star Power potential of

the Hong Kong series, it should have

gone beyond one season. I do recall

Ida Lupino, and being impressed by

her elegant beauty and gentle way of

directing. I never realised that she was

a pioneer in show business [a men’s

profession] nor myself being ground-

breaking as a Eurasian on Broadway

and in films.’

Union rules forbade the hiring

of foreign (e.g. Hong Kong) actors

without US union accreditation, but

Hong Kong offered Asian-American

actors rare exposure in a major series,

opportunities scarcely that available

since MGM’s 1930s production of

Sidney Franklin’s film, The Good Earth

(1937).12 Other directors included

Stuart Rosenberg, Arthur Hiller, Robert

Florey, Budd Boett icher and Paul

Henreid, with musical heavyweight

Lionel Newman (South Pacific , etc)

composing the scores.

Hong Kong cinema: a ‘what if?’

The signs were there for a hit series

and fol low-up seasons. Had they

emerged, US actor unions would

su re l y have accommodated the

‘new faces’ demand for a supply of

real Hong Kong movie stars, some

then earning international kudos at

the annual Asian Film Festival, with

Hong Kong cinema itself cl imbing

towards an all-time record for feature

production. 1960 was also the year of

Grace Chang’s classic performance of

the Carmen figure in Wong Tin-lam’s

The Wild, Wild Rose.

Apar t f rom Chang, L i L ihua,

repor ted ly Hong Kong c inema’s

highest-paid actor, had made her

Hollywood debut, co-starring with

Victor Mature in Frank Borzage’s

China Doll (1958) for John Wayne’s

production company. With visible

employment of Hong Kong movie

s ta rs in such a ser ies, Western

cl ichés about Hong Kong cinema

may eventually have become more

interest ing than the ‘chopsockie’

image arising from its successful kung

fu films in the 1970s, especially at the

US box office.

R.I.P. Hong Kong?

How could it miss?

Unfortunately, on ratings, its main

time-slot opposition, Wagon Train ,

the NBC-aired ‘adult Western’, won

the day. After just one season, Hong Kong, with all that promise and talent,

was executed!

Let us hope that a local television

executive may consider broadcasting it

and that, with all the reasons television

fare of the past is commerc ia l l y

reissued on disc, 20th Century Fox

sees the good sense – and profit – to

do the same with Hong Kong, before it

disappears from living memory.

Notes1 See IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/ti t le/

tt0053508/usercomments.

2 As confirmed to me in an email received on 8 April 2011 from Fox’s Clip & Stills Licensing Department.

3 Only the Rediffusion cable service, serving a few thousands of subscribers including Hong Kong hotels, offered daily television fare. Free-to-air television would not begin in the territory until the late 1960s.

4 She had co-starred with Ronald Reagan in the Lewis R. Foster feature, Hong Kong (1952).

5 The World of Suzie Wong played 508 performances in two Broadway theatres from October 1958 to early January 1960 per IBDB (Internet Broadway Database).

6 See The Chinese Mirror ’s summary of Douglas Fairbanks’ reaction to the outcry over The Thief of Bagdad in which he starred at http://www.chinesemirror.com/index/2007/01/douglas_fairban.html.

7 A blanket ban of all Lloyd’s fi lms arose from a screening in February 1930 of his first talkie, Welcome Danger in Shanghai’s Grand Theatre, led by playwright Hong Shen and 300 or so students protesting the caricatures of San Francisco’s Chinese.

8 See page 47 of The New York Times of 10 December 1960, headlined ‘“Hong Kong” on TV Unlike Real City’.

9 News item in the Hongkong Tiger Standard of 18 March 1955, on page 12 under the headline, ‘Yung Hua Studio, etc’.

10 See page 4 of the Hongkong Tiger Standard (14 July 1960) under the headline, ‘Rod Says You Can’t Beat the Cheongsam’.

11 Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: an Aussie in Hollywood , Duncan: BearManor Media, 2010.

12 Backstage, The Good Ear th , der ived from Pearl Buck’s bestselling novel (same t i t le) , was a four-year drama in i tsel f . MGM lavished a fortune on revisions and conferences to avoid the offences of earlier Chinese-related Hollywood films. Hold-ups might have contributed to original director George W. Hill’s apparent suicide in 1934.

Frank Bren is a film historian and actor based in Australia. He is the co-author of Hong Kong Cinema: A Cross-Cultural View (Peking University Press, Beijing, 2011).

9


《鐵金剛勇破神秘島》（1962）

上映之前，占士邦特務系列

電影的種種素材，在美國出品的《香

港》（1960-1961）─一套已遭遺

忘的電視連續劇─便已清晰可見。

《香港》是荷里活與香港最親密

的一趟接觸，更甚於李察昆導演的

《蘇絲黃的世界》（1960）。去年

正值《蘇》片公映五十周年，女主角

關南施專程來港出席紀念酒會。《香

港》真係乜都有：清一式好演技、抵

死笑料、火爆打鬥、愛／害男主角

的俏嬌娃、向舊電影（如《群雄奪

寶鷹》〔1941〕）致敬、冷戰政治

角力、選角出色的反派。香港演員

Anita Loo參演的第六集〈躍龍〉更

是撼動人心─末段，惹人憐愛的女

主角泰娜艾嘉竟遭殺掉，有著希治閣

驚慄名作《驚魂記》（1960）的痕

跡。

現在看來，就連男主角洛泰萊，

也是塊上乘的占士邦料子─演技、

魅力、粗獷俊朗的外型、「硬漢子」

的動作場面（包括親身上陣的高難度

動作）等等，一應俱全。他學習廣東

話，在整個系列26集當中不時說著，

並在1960年6、7月來港拍攝了部分場

面。

只要上網按個鍵，便可發現不少

人熱切期待重看《香港》。1 可惜，

它的版權持有者二十世紀霍士公司表

示沒有計劃發行影碟。2

沒有在香港出現的《香港》

至少我沒有找到證據顯示它曾出

現過3，著實可惜。《香港》起用了

荷里活的精英，吸引一眾明星客串演

出，如歌手茱莉倫敦、盧燕（《董夫

人》〔1969〕）、英格史蒂芬絲、

露珊安娜柏露茜、戴娜梅里爾、朗

達弗萊明4，還有《南太平洋之戀》

（1958）女主角阮蘭

絲─在百老匯舞台

上飾演蘇絲黃的第一

人 5，《香港》攝製

期間與洛泰萊過從甚

密。

形象大膽

1 9 2 0 及 3 0 年

代，美國電影在中國

遭到嚴厲審查。這個

問題對於當代香港沒

有多大影響，但與

1960年相距不遠，

故當年不少論者透過

《香港》，思考荷里

活電視製作對香港的描寫是怎樣的一

回事。

純粹從貿易角度考量，中國

人對部分美國電影的抗議行為令美

國政府憂慮。抗議的理由繁多─

迷信（如施素德美的《劍王之王》

〔1927〕）；辱華意識（如賴奧華爾

殊的《月宮寶盒》〔1924〕6、哈洛

洛依德的《不怕死》〔1929〕7）。

法蘭克卡甫拉的《閻將軍的苦茶》

（1933）和路易邁爾史東的《將軍死

在黎明》（1936）則涉及更複雜的原

因。

《紐約時報》（1960年12月10

日）的李察舒伯特大抵也在思考這

些問題。他說：「這陣子，香港在

電視、舞台和銀幕上的形象相當大

膽。」相信這是因為同名劇集每週透

過美國廣播公司在全國播映，再加上

《蘇絲黃的世界》話劇和電影版本的

成功。舒伯特訪問吳嘉棠（《標準虎

報》〔《英文虎報》前身〕編輯，其

時兼任《香港》的製作顧問）：「說

實的，你怎樣看《香港》？你的出生

地在裡頭看起來真實正面嗎？」

「管它甚麼正面不正面，」吳氏

笑言，「只要把名字寫對就夠了。」

他又說道：「比如說一部香港製作的

犯罪片，以紐約為故事背景，並在當

地拍攝──《香港》裡的香港孰真孰

假，就像這部片子裡的紐約市一樣，

『創作』嘛。」8

真實的香港街景

荷里活作為攝影師與香港作為模

特兒，他倆的戀事在1955至1960年間

開花結果，先後出現了至少兩部「力

捧」這位模特兒的電視

劇。

根據《國際電影》

第7期（香港，1956年

4月號），一支荷里活

電視攝製隊「近日抵達

香港，以『香港限期』

為題，擬拍攝三十集短

篇電視小品。」曾有照

片拍下攝製隊與影星占

戴維斯在九龍某處外景

現場，被好奇的路人圍

觀，並有其他在美國找

到的佐證，顯示這部劇

集正在拍攝中，但它最

終似乎不曾播放。《國

際電影》的報道以及「報章故事」式

的陳述手法，彷彿預示了《香港》的

出現。

相比之下，闊銀幕彩色影片如

《蘇絲黃的世界》、亨利金的《生死

戀》（1955）、艾活迪密直克的《江

湖客》（1955）更成氣候，盡展香港

真實的一面，魅力不凡，可謂前所未


《香港》印象 01•混合媒介•黃志輝作 Hong Kong Impressions, 01 by Wong Chi-fai (mixed media)

1960年間盧燕在荷里活嶄露頭角Lisa Lu gradually found her fame in Hollywood around 1960.

11

見。除了以高清影碟重溫這些經典以

外，大概無法再看到這樣的香港。

誠如珍妮羅拔絲在《中國郵

報》（1955年7月16日）評論《江湖

客》：「香港是真正的主角……她很

上鏡和合作……這個美麗的小島，她

的景和人（不論岸上或水上的），全

都是最自然的拍攝對象。外景拍竣拿

到荷里活剪接時，很少需要人工修

飾。」

《江湖客》與葛蘭

在這種氣氛下，電視劇《香港》

在1960年與觀眾見面，出奇制勝的

任用澳洲演員洛泰萊作為男主角。

其時，泰萊在美國已是資深的電視演

員，又在多部五十年代的美國大片

─例如：艾活迪密直克的《戰國

佳人》（1957）─擔演配角。他

剛在佐治柏萊的《漫遊未來世界》

（1960）擔綱，演技出眾，證明自己

是一流的演員；輕喜劇與正劇兼擅，

即使這些範疇已被加利格蘭等男星佔

了鰲頭。他在《香港》的演出，讓他

往後十年在美國影壇炙手可熱，是埃

洛弗林之後，另一位享此盛譽的澳洲

男星。

《香港》彷彿成為了黑白版的

「窮街陋巷」，穿梭其間的是男主

角─ 報館記者基連依凡斯（洛

泰萊飾）。他在打鬥、兇案，當然

還有少不了的感情線上打滾追逐，

每週換上新的對象，跟標緻的白人

或亞洲女子談談情查查案。每集均

有可觀的故事主線貫穿其中，模式

參照霍氏公司另一部更大型的製

作《江湖客》─二者同時起用該

公司的演員積奇古斯俊及Richa rd

Loo；男主角（奇勒基寶和洛泰萊）

分別與一名香港的英籍高級警官─

《江湖客》是米高雲尼，《香港》

則是萊朗布勒拿─有著曲折而過

癮的關係，並同樣是家住太平山頂

的單身貴族。

《香港》裡的「香港」既真實

亦虛幻；劇集從冷戰小說《江湖客》

（1954）抽取黑色電影的元素，作

者恩斯特簡同時撰寫電影改編版的劇

本。他在書中寫道中國大可隨時收回

香港，易如反掌：「這個誰都知道，

包括英國人，只是他們不敢承認罷

了。」《江湖客》（原著、電影亦

然）巧用「赤色」恐慌作為創作素

材；電影於1955年公映，恐慌理應比

《香港》出爐的1960年間更為強烈，

但「赤色」的中國反派人物在《香

港》依然清楚可辨。

還有一點值得一提：《江湖客》

是葛蘭首部荷里活作品。她扮演神秘

的「舢舨女郎」，出現在影片早段一

場有對白的戲，但片頭片末均找不著

她的名字。她的荷里活事業或許始於

1955年─同年3月，每況愈下的香

港永華片場宣佈與美國合作拍攝《紅

繩結》，英語對白，由「本地國語

片演員葛蘭」主演。9 結果，《紅繩

結》只聞樓梯響。

還「香港」一片真霍士公司與洛泰萊於1960年6月

中至7月中期間到港。泰萊在7月13日

返回美國，臨行前告

訴《標準虎報》記者

他對香港印象非常深

刻，特別是灣仔、太

平山頂、「在荷里活

不夠多的」長衫，還

有他自行發掘的中國

「風土人情」。10 當

年，泰萊曾公開呼籲

《香港》的編劇避開

那些陳套的「傅滿

洲」橋段，儘管不完

全成功。

泰萊曾是澳洲

悉尼的電台廣播劇演

員，這大概有助他迅

速學會廣東話。《香

港》主要在洛杉磯的露天片場拍攝，

製作人員把在港拍畢的菲林（據稱有

五萬尺）分段剪輯，其中包括一次真

實的香港警方緝捕行動，泰萊也有出

鏡。他扮演的伊雲斯的新潮大宅位於

「山頂道24號」─現時可見（不妨

坐巴士到那裡走走），是山頂道懸崖

邊的一道斜坡哩！

在香港唸書長大的Mai Tai Sing

是劇集的半固定演員，她經營的酒吧

「人力車」是三藩市一帶藝人的熱門

消遣處。劇集開拍數週以後，編劇加

插了「金龍飯館」作為伊雲斯常去的

歇腳點，老闆就是「青媚」（Mai Tai

Sing飾）。最近，史提芬偉基寫了一

本關於洛泰萊的書。11 他指出：「當

年，亞洲演員在荷里活的工作機會不

怎麼多，《香港》為他們提供了寶貴

的就業機會，我深信泰萊也會很支持

的；他與阮蘭絲交往，後來又娶了一

位日裔美國人。」

1960年首播／阮蘭絲

1960年9月28日（星期三）晚上7

時30分，《香港》正式在美國廣播公

司網絡黃金時段啟播。依達露比諾執

導了〈一觸即發〉一集，女主角阮蘭

絲突圍而出，成為戰後其中一位獨當

一面的美籍亞裔影視紅星。1958年，

她在喬舒亞洛根的《南太平洋之戀》

初登銀幕，迅速竄紅。為了拙文，她

特地憶述當年參演《香港》─她的

首部電視作品。

「《香港》紅星雲集，理應不限

於一個劇季，可以再拍下去。我還記

得依達露比諾，她的優雅氣質、溫文

的導演手法，令人

印象尤深。我一直

不知道她原來是當

年演藝界（一個男

性主導的行業）的

先驅，也不知道我

突破了亞裔演員在

百老匯和荷里活的

成就。」

演員工會禁止

電視台聘用沒有會

籍的外地或香港演

員，而大製作《香

港》為美籍亞裔演

員提供難得的曝光

機會，是薛尼費格

連導演的美高梅製

作《大地》（1937）以來罕見的。12

參與《香港》的導演計有斯圖特羅森

堡、阿瑟希拿、羅拔佛羅利、巴特布

蒂切及保羅亨里特；配樂則由音樂劇

名家李奧納紐曼（作品包括《南太平

洋之戀》等）負責。

香港電影的一個「假如」

顯然，所有成功的要素俱備，足

以衍生一齣長壽的連續劇。倘若拍成

了續集，演員工會肯定會吸納好一些

「新臉孔」，提供更多的香港影星，

以敷所需，尤其是當時不少香港演員

在每年的亞洲電影節贏得國際聲譽，

香港影業的產量正邁向歷史新高。葛

蘭的經典「卡門」作《野玫瑰之戀》

（導演：王天林）同樣在1960年誕

生。

11

阮蘭絲親自回信及贈予照片給本文作者France Nuyen answered the author's questions in a letter and attached therein some photos.


除了葛蘭之外，據報為香港薪

酬最高的演員李麗華也闖進了荷里

活，與韋特馬修合演法蘭保沙治導

演的《飛虎嬌娃》（1958，由尊

榮的公司出品）。七十年代，香港

功夫片在美國票房報捷，「雜碎」

（chopsockie）式的廉價打鬥動作

片成為西方對於香港電影的普遍印

象。若《香港》的續集成功面世，

並廣泛起用香港影星，西方對於香

港電影既有的認知，想必更加多采

多姿。

《香港》安息吧？

這樣的一部作品怎麼會遭到滑

鐵盧？

可惜，在收視率方面，與它在

同一時段打對台、全國廣播公司的

「成人西部片」《馬車歷險記》勝

了一仗。《香港》有的是希望，有

的是人才，可是播了一季之後，便

遭殺掉了！

唯願《香港》從我們的記憶消

失之前，當地的電視製作人會考慮

重播；我們有各種理由支持舊電視

節目製成影碟，期望霍士公司亦能

看到當中的道理─還有商機─

為《香港》作出同樣的安排。（翻

譯：劉勤銳）

註釋

1 參看IMDb網上電影資料庫http://www.imdb.

com/title/tt0053508/usercomments。

2 據2011年4月8日霍士公司「電影片段及劇

照版權授權部」的電郵所示。

3 當時，香港只有「麗的映聲」每天提供電

視廣播，受眾限於本地酒店等數千名訂

戶，免費電視到六十年代末方才出現。

4 曾與朗奴列根合演路易科士打導演的長片

《香港風暴》（1952）。

5 根據IBDB網上百老匯資料庫，由1958年10

月至1960年1月初，《蘇絲黃的世界》在兩

所百老匯劇院一共搬演508場。

6 道格拉斯費爾班克斯曾參演《月宮寶

盒》。就影片惹來的抗議，他的回應載於

《中國鏡子》http://www.chinesemirror.com/

index/2007/01/douglas_fairban.html。

7 哈洛洛依德的電影遭到全面封殺，始於

1930年2月上海大劇院放映他的首部有聲片

《不怕死》。當時，劇作家洪深率領三百

多名學生到場示威，聲討片中對三藩市華

人的譏刺。

8 〈電視上的《香港》不真實〉，《紐約時

報》，1960年12月10日，頁47。

9 〈永華片場等〉，《標準虎報》，1955年3

月18日，頁12。

10 〈阿洛說沒有比長衫更好的了〉，《標準

虎報》，1960年7月14日，頁4。

11 史提芬偉基：《洛泰萊：一個澳洲漢在荷

里活》，鄧肯，BearManor Media，2010。

12 幕後，《大地》的製作過程本身也是一齣

整整四年的戲。它改編自珀爾巴克（又名

賽珍珠）的同名暢銷小說，美高梅公司斥

巨資反覆修訂並討論劇本，借鑑以往取材

自中國的荷里活影片所犯的毛病，避免重

蹈覆轍；種種延誤並可能與原導演喬治希

爾1934年的自殺有關。

法蘭賓是電影史學家及演員，現居於澳洲。

著作包括《香港電影跨文化觀》（增訂版）

（與羅卡合著，2011）等。


大明星，小演員，都是自己人生的

主角。

一張似曾相識的面孔在斑馬線上

擦身而過，交通燈一轉才驚覺是那咖

啡店老闆。錯過了給他打招呼，一秒

茫然後繼續上路。

五、六十年代的許多性格演員，

跟路上的街坊鄰里一樣既陌生又親

切。有些也許我們不知道他們的名

字，只知道他們「叫」包租婆、惡家

姑、探長、嘍囉；儘管只是偶然在銀

幕上打個照面，他們的語氣姿態我們

卻瞭如指掌。

這些「無名」的前輩演員，很多

在戰前已從事演藝事業，人生與演技

皆歷盡磨煉，即使戲份不多，卻往往

憑獨特的氣質、細膩的演技豐富了電

影的質感。本館於展覽廳設置「似水

流年　綠葉常青」展覽（展期為7月

15日至10月30日），不僅是本館向他

們對電影的一生貢獻敬禮，我們更希

望藉這「重逢」的機會，讓這些前輩

演員都當上主角，成為觀眾的焦點，

展示他們自己主演的戲劇人生。

性格演員一生活在水銀燈下卻鮮

被對焦，翻遍館藏劇照就能深切體會

這冰冷的現實：即使一生拍片數百，

也難留數幀清晰生猛的浮光掠影─

光圈總是對紅花，幾回偏向綠葉叢？

每有發現，他們即使在邊緣位置，表

情和動作都生鬼搶戲，敬業樂業。或

許是我們的戀戀不捨，或許是上天眷

顧，最終我們順利集得足夠照片製作

展覽，並從過百部影片裡剪輯了幾十

位前輩的絕妙好戲；可是他們生平的

文字資料卻極為有限，甚至闕如。儘

管大明星天天見報，小人物難尋鴻爪

─ 前輩們，您們又豈止是芸芸眾

生，那些段段精彩演出我們猶在讚嘆

呢。謝謝！

董澄為香港電影資料館節目助理（展覽）

捐贈者芳名 Donors

本館特此致謝！Thank you!

16.3.2011–28.7.2011

天工冲印（國際）有限公司安樂影片有限公司我們制作有限公司協利電影（香港）有限公司花生映社英皇電影星空華文傳媒電影有限公司香港第一發行有限公司高先電影有限公司國際電影有限公司港僑影業公司發行工作室（香港）有限公司澤東電影有限公司寰宇影片發行有限公司寰亞電影發行有限公司All Rights Entertainment LimitedAmerican Genre Film Archive

任伯江先生汪雲女士吳金華先生袁惠芬女士張蔚成先生陳永光先生陳思宜女士陳彩玉女士陳穎儀女士游靜女士曾佩芬女士黃文約先生黃仁先生黃愛玲女士楊添旻先生楊國偉先生談淑賢女士

鄭錫光先生歐浩明先生黎柱先生劉玉蓮女士鍾德勝先生簡鉅先生關乃成先生蘇芷瑩女士Mr Adebayo FaleMr Dharmesh PatelMr Toby Russell

13

1 雷鳴（國際）電影貿易公司多年來對本館大力支持，捐贈逾五百部影片，館長林覺聲（右）特地在雷鳴親臨「綠葉常青」節目會場時向他致贈紀念品。

The Lui Ming (International) Film Enterprises has donated to us over 500 film titles. (Right) Richie Lam, the Archive Head presented to Lui Ming a souvenir during the ‘Four Characters’ programme.

2&3 阮紫瑩對五、六十年代電影涉獵深廣，大力幫助資料搜集及整理，更聯絡和安排前輩演員來館與觀眾見面，周到備至，難怪不少前輩視她如子侄。

（圖2）李香琴；（圖3）羅蘭（右）與阮紫瑩

Yuen Tsz-ying is a connoisseur of 1950s & 60s Hong Kong films who helped make this exhibition possible.

(Pic 2) Lee Hong-kum; (Pic 3) Helena Law Lan (right) and Yuen Tsz-ying

W hether a major star or bit part actor, there will always be a

starring role on hand – one’s own life.These actors have highly familiar

faces. They are not unlike the owner of the café at the street corner who brushed past you on the street, whose name you recall several seconds too late for a proper greeting.

The many cha rac te r ac to rs from the 1950s & 60s are like our neighbours – they are literally strangers yet oddly comforting at the same time. We may not know their names, but we certainly know them to be the landlady, the wicked mother-in-law, the detective, the rogue. They may not constantly grace the silver screen, but we can recall their moves and tones with no difficulty.

These ‘nameless’ veteran actors are often engaged in the performing arts prior to the war. With their lives

and crafts both honed by the turbulent times, they enrich and give substance to mov ies th rough the i r un ique qualities and refined acting regardless of the size of the role. The ‘Faces of Endearment: A Tribute to Supporting Actors’ exhibition at the HKFA Exhibition Hall (runs until 30 October) serves as our tribute towards their lifelong contr ibut ions in the f i lm industry. Aside from being a fond reunion, this is a worthy occasion for these veteran actors to become the leads. Their movie careers are the featured attractions for the audience.

Character actors are rarely the focus under the limelight, a dispiriting observation illustrated by the fact that photo stills of them are hard to come by within the Archive collection. Even with an impressive oeuvre of several hundred movies, the photos available are not many. They may not necessarily

be the focus of these photos, but

often draw the attention away with

their thespian moves and expressions.

P e r h a p s d u e t o o u r d o g g e d

pers istence, or s imply b lessings

from the higher power, we are able

to assemble enough material for an

exhibition. The video clips featuring

classic performances from a multitude

of these respected actors are edited

from well over 100 movies. Biographical

i n f o rma t i on may be reg re t t ab l y

insufficient, or even missing in some

cases. With copious media attention

dwel l ing on the b ig stars, these

excellent actors may have felt ordinary

by comparison. On the contrary, their

extraordinary performances will still be

relished by us and the generations to

come. (Translated by Richard Lee)

Tung Ching is Programme Assistant (Exhibition) of

the HKFA.

Hats Off to Unsung Heroes綠葉常青

董澄 Tung Ching

節目 Programme

13

2


星空華文傳媒電影有限公司

香港電影資料館與星空華文傳

媒電影有限公司素有聯繫，去年，其

節目發行副總裁吳文亮先生致電我

們，表示他們打算捐贈星空華文片庫

內的香港電影給我們作永久保存。這

批影片的出品年份橫跨七十年代至千

禧年初，那時正值香港電影最閃爍耀

眼的黃金歲月，不獨產量多、質量

佳、票房好，而且名片、名導、明星

輩出，加上發行影片的網絡成熟，以

致其時許多香港電影都能躍現世界舞

台。我們接過他們提供的片目，隨即

草擬捐贈細則，再把接收及存倉工作

安排妥當，卒於今年2月和5月，將

逾三百部新藝城、嘉禾、德寶、中國

星等公司的影片統統運返，當中包括

《迎春閣之風波》（1973）、《省港

旗兵》（1984）、《秋天的童話》

（1987）、《阮玲玉》（1991）和

《大隻佬》（2003）等經典電影，合

共千多個拷貝，以

及上萬卷效果、音

樂底片、NG片及

不同語別的聲片。

為了迎接這批

數量龐大的影片，

搜集組傾巢而出，

部分駐守星空華文

位於紅磡的片倉，

進行初步檢查、點

算、核實紀錄等

的工作。運送電影文物的規格與一般

貨品截然不同，對於暫存處及運送途

中的溫、濕度變化，必須格外留神，

幸而星空華文的片庫設備環境俱佳，

大大減少了我們這方面的憂慮。在具

文物搬運經驗的公司協助下，我們把

每套影片裝箱，再仔細做好防光及防

水的工序，確保文物

不會在運送過程中受

損。

幾次密集式的

交收及移送工作合共

進行了約三個星期，

如非得各方信任與合

作，很容易就出亂

子。資料館與星空華

文交往已有十年，一

直互相了解，互相信

賴。這次，我們甫到達倉庫，見他們

已把可捐贈的影片物料分妥，並均備

有簡單的檢查報告，他們還盡量辨出

不同的版本，把質素較好的畫上記

Sowing Seeds – Episode 1卻在燈火闌珊處（之一）

蘇芷瑩 Karen So

人說農民靠天，搜集的工作也差不了多少。我們撒把種子，悉心栽種，它們會不會發芽成長？在甚麼時候？都說不

準，但我們就有農民的勁兒，相信總會等得到，總會等得到。自今年二月起，搜集組馬不停蹄地外出收集影片。驀

然回首，十多年前播下的種子，現在一下子發芽長大了⋯⋯

星空華文的同事預先篩選出質素較好的拷貝，省卻了我們不少時間。FSM staff identified the prints of better quality in advance which made our work a whole lot easier.

新增藏品 New Acquisitions


F armers are said to be at the mercy of the heavens. The same sentiment

could be applied to the work of film acquisition. We disseminate and carefully cultivate possible leads. There’s no telling when or even if they’ll come to fruition. But we have the tenacity of farmers. We trust that our efforts will be rewarded eventually, provided that we’re willing to be patient.

Since February of this year, our Acquisition Team has been relentlessly gathering films and related ephemera. Looking back, the seeds we sowed ten years ago all begin to sprout. If you sow it, the yield will come...

Forture Star MediaThe Film Archive has always enjoyed a good relationship with Forture Star Media (FSM). Last year Mr Alfred Ng, FSM’s Vice-President of Programme Distribution, called us to announce their intentions to donate prints of the Hong Kong films from their depot for preservation. The collection includes films produced from 1970 to early

2000, the most prolific and glorious era of Hong Kong cinema. The high production values of the films during this period were matched only by their high box-office returns. It also heralded the emergence of a generation of superstar fi lmmakers and actors. Coupled with the expanding distribution network, many Hong Kong films from this era found also their way onto the world stage.

Between February and May of this year, we transported over 300 films produced by Cinema City, Golden Harvest, D&B and China Star. Among the collection are such classics as The Fate of Lee Khan (1973), Long Arm of the Law (1984), An Autumn’s Tale (1987), Center Stage (1991), and Running on Karma (2003). The consignment consisted of over 1,000 celluloid copies as well as nearly 10,000 reels of optical sound negatives, outtake footage and foreign language dubbing tracks.

Our ent ire Acquisit ion Team mobilised for the massive undertaking of receiving the films. Part of the team

was dispatched to the FSM film depot in Hung Hom to conduct a preliminary assessment of the films and to check the inventory. The logistics involved in transporting antique prints also demanded special care. The temperature and humidity conditions needed to be carefully monitored during storage and throughout the shipping process. To our great relief, the environment of the FSM depot was carefully maintained and well-equipped. With the help of an experienced shipper, we boxed each set of prints, sealing and protecting them against light and moisture to ensure that they would not be damaged during transport.

The actual transfer of the materials was conducted in phases and required a total of three weeks to accomplish. Things could have easily gone awry but for the hard work and coordinated efforts of all parties involved. It was a testament to the ten-year friendship between the Film Archive and FSM, built on trust and understanding. When we arrived at the depot, the materials earmarked for donation were already catalogued along

15

金公主娛樂有限公司

八十前，從事電影發行的他眼見

本地製片抬著拷貝四處央求戲院放映

而無著，感到憤憤不平，亟欲改變影

圈不公平的現象；八十後，他獲邀籌

辦院線，遂毅然與之合組金公主。

金公主娛樂有限公司於1980年

成立，未幾業務漸繁，更斥資支持麥

嘉、黃百鳴、石天等影圈新銳創辦新

藝城影業有限公司，直接帶動香港電

影工業的發展。當時新藝城及與其緊

密合作的攝製公司人材濟濟，曾開創

「英雄片」與「風雲片」潮流，與邵

氏、嘉禾鼎足而三，造就了香港電影

業的繁華盛世。

為拓闊港片市場，他把金公主的

發行網移至紐約、洛杉磯、三藩市、

溫哥華、多倫多，在海外建立了另一

個電影皇朝。香港電影的影響逐漸滲

入西方社會，與此不無關係。

他曾說：「沒有以前，就沒有

以後，怎樣永遠保存影片，給世世代

代的香港人？……有一句話叫『十年

黃金變爛銅』，無論你放在甚麼地

方，黃金也會變爛銅；如果把黃金存

於資料館，就永遠是黃金，將來還會

變鑽石。」是次星空捐贈的影片，近

半與金公主共同擁有版權。在徵得

兩方首肯之後，包括《最佳拍檔》

系列（1982-1986）、《英雄本色》

系列（1986-1989）、《倩女幽魂》

系列（1987-1991）及《龍虎風雲》

（1987）、《喋血雙雄》（1989）等

經典電影，終於一部部駕臨資料館片

庫。

感謝他──馮秉仲先生對香港電

影的貢獻和對資料館的支持，成就了

一件又一件的美事，讓電影文化得以

承傳。

蘇芷瑩為自由工作者，並為香港電影資料館搜

集組項目統籌。

（後排右起）龍哥、彬哥及Felix 與搜集組同事(Back row, from right) Lung-gor, Bun-gor and Felix with the Acquisition Team

Golden PrincessPrior to 1980, early in his film distribution career, he often witnessed desperate production managers approach theatres with film prints of local productions in tow, begging for screening slots. Their efforts were usually futile. Sympathetic to their plight, he resolved to correct unfair practices within the film industry. Later invited to start a new cinema distribution network in 1980, he helped co-found the Golden Princess.

Established in 1980, Golden Princess Amusement Company Limited proved to be an instant success. They went on to form their own studio, Cinema City Company Limited, launching the new wave of heroic action films and hard-hitting dramas. Soon joining the ranks of Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, Golden Princess established itself as one of three major studios that dominated Hong Kong cinema at its height.

To develop markets for Hong Kong f i lms, he bui lt an overseas Golden Princess empire, establishing a distribution network that included theatres in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Toronto. In

many ways, his efforts were responsible for introducing audiences in the West to Hong Kong cinema.

He once said, ‘If there is no past, there will be no future. How does one preserve our films for future generations? Even gold can become tarnished in negligent hands. But if the gold is preserved in the Film Archive, it will glitter forever and will even turn into diamond!’ The rights of nearly half of the film titles recently donated by FSM to the Film Archive were co-owned by Golden Princess. After gaining approval from both companies, prints of such classics as the Aces Go Places series (1982–1986), A Better Tomorrow series (1986–1989), A Chinese Ghost Story series (1987–1991), City on Fire (1987) and The Killer (1989) eventually found their way to the Film Archive.

We offer our heartfelt thanks to him – Mr Gordon Fung. His invaluable contributions to the film industry and his support for the Film Archive have helped preserve the legacy of Hong Kong cinema. (Translated by Sandy Ng)

Karen So is a freelance writer and Project Coordinator of the HKFA’s Acquisition Unit.

with a simple report on the condition of each individual print. The FSM staff also tried their best to include all the different versions of the films available. To help facilitate our task, they even identified the prints of better quality in advance.

Over the weeks, apart from the sheer joy of witnessing the transfer of this consignment of films, what we remembered most was the dedication and conscientious attitude of the FSM staff. Most had been responsible for maintaining the depot for over 15 years. Some were even industry veterans with over 30 years of service. The smooth transfer of the generous donation was in large part due to the diligence and professionalism of the FSM staff in maintaining the depot over the many years. We could not have accomplished our task without them.

Thanks to Felix (Mr Felix Shu), Bun-gor (Mr Chan Pun), Lung-gor (Mr Chow Wing-nin), Owen (Mr Fung Ho-yin)… you may not realise it, but through your hard work, you’ve made a significant contribution to the continuing legacy of Hong Kong film culture!

號，方便我們識別及提取。

幾星期下來，教我們最難忘的，

除了是見證這批影片移送的喜悅外，

還有的就是兢兢業業的星空華文片庫

同事們。他們許多都照顧了這批影片

超過十五年了，一些前輩更從事香港

電影業超過三十年。休息的時候，聽

他們細說片庫的歷史，一字一句都

滲透著他們對工作的熱忱和敬業樂業

的態度。我們真的相信，要不是他們

多年來用盡心力把片庫打理得井井有

條，我們這次的搜集工作就沒可能這

麼順利。

感謝Felix（徐翰祥先生）、彬哥

（陳彬先生）、龍哥（周永年先生）、

Owen（馮浩然先生）……也許您們不

曉得，您們的努力，著實為延續香港電

影文化的工作扶上了有力的一把！

15


In Memory of ‘Big Brother’懷念「大哥」鄧光榮

Learning Through Art新高中學生藝術學習之旅

The World Theatre新世界戲院

T his past June, the Film Archive organised

the ‘Alan Tang – Student Prince Forever’

Morning Matinee series on four consecutive

Fridays, featuring four classics starring the

revered ‘Big Brother’ Alan Tang (1946–2011).

Selected for the 17 June screening was

Return Engagement (1990) which Tang

produced and starred in. The post-screening

talk led by Bryan Chang (right), President of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, turned

out more like a memorial session. Teary as they reminisced, Joe Cheung (left), the film’s

director, and Yvette Tang (middle), Alan Tang’s elder daughter shared with the audience

their fond memories of the deceased star.

The Cheung family was owner of The World Theatre in Central District from the 1930s to early 50s. (1st, 2nd & 4th left) Dr Cindy Cheung, Mr Tony Cheung and Mr William Cheung, descendants of the second generation, visited the Film Archive on 2 July. Accompanied by Hong Kong Baptist University’s Dr Lo Wai-luk (1st right) and HKFA staff Sam Ho (2nd right) and Po Fung (3rd left), our guests talked about the early history of local theatres and donated to us some precious photographs for reproduction.

This year, the Film Archive co-presents for a

second time with the Hong Kong Film Critics

Society and the Education Bureau ‘A Journey

on Learning the Arts for New Senior Secondary

Students’. In May, students from three secondary

schools visited our exhibition on the Union Film

studio, watched a Union movie and a short video

on film restoration. In the post-screening talk,

Bryan Chang, Lau Yam and Lam Kam-po from the

Society let students ponder social issues now and

then by analysing films from the 1950s and 60s.

本館於6月一連四個星期五舉行

「永遠的學生王子鄧光榮」，以

圈中人尊稱為「大哥」的鄧光榮

（1946-2011）主演的作品緬懷

大哥風采。6月17日，鄧光榮監製

兼主演的《再戰江湖》（1990）

放映後，（左起）該片導演張同

祖、鄧光榮長女鄧業炘及香港電

影評論學會會長張偉雄出席分享

會，討論電影之餘，與特地前來

的影迷細說大哥生前軼事，眾皆

戀戀不捨。

由三十年代開始經營新世界戲院至五十年代初

的張氏家族，其第二代張羨英博士、張偉東

先生、張兆鴻先生（左一、二、四）在7月2

日蒞臨香港電影資料館，與香港

浸會大學盧偉力博士（右一）及

本館的何思穎、蒲鋒（右二及左

三），暢談早期戲院的歷史，還

捐出珍貴照片供資料館複製。

本館今年再度連同香港電影評論學

會與教育局合辦「新高中學生藝術

學習之旅」。5月份參與計劃的三

間學校，參觀其時舉行的「中聯：

我為人人的影藝精神」展覽，欣賞

中聯電影及本館的影片保存及修復

短片。映後談分別由香港電影評論

學會會長張偉雄、理事劉嶔及董事

林錦波主持，透過分析五、六十年

代的電影風格，引導學生思考今昔

的社會問題。

林錦波（前排左二）與金文泰中學師生Lam Kam-po (front row, 2nd left) sharing his thoughts with students from Clementi Secondary School.

動態 What's On


17

今年6月，東南亞太平洋影音資料

館協會（SEAPAVAA）周年大

會於吉隆坡舉行，由馬來西亞國家資

料館主辦，主題圍繞「影音資料館管

理」，吸引過百名來自18個國家地區

的成員代表、影音從業員及當地業界

人士參與。

隨著SEAPAVAA踏入第15個年

頭，本年亦標誌著SEAPAVAA重要的

一年—除周年大會外，SEAPAVAA

將召開首屆太平洋會議，回應其為

東南亞及太平洋地區影音資料館服

務的定位。周年大會上，可深深感

受到各位幹事的興奮。

會議上，講者們就著不同課題發

表演說及進行小組討論。多位講者

不約而同地提到，因著物料退化、

舊格式的播放器不再推出等等不同

原因，全球每年消失的影音遺產多

不勝數；各國資料館—尤其是資

金緊絀的小型民間資料館之間更應

通力合作，加強互通消息，包括於

技術研究、管理層面的交流，才能達致挽救更多影音

遺產的共同目標。

不得不提的當然是「數碼化」的議題，這幾乎是

被一致認同必須進行的任務，因此討論重點落在「如

何進行」上。國際影音保育權威占姆林德納認為，進

行「數碼化」或其他大型計劃前，應先重新審視及制

定工作流程（Workflow）；以「數碼化」計劃作例

子，應先篩選及優先處理重要而高危的物料，抑或不

作篩選先進行數碼化？篩選過程可能需時甚久，極端

例子甚至比轉換格式本身更花時間。而轉為數碼格式

後，以往某些難題亦可能隨之而解決，例如館藏倉庫

空間不足等。此類工作流程上的考量尤其重要，協助

抓出計劃的「樽頸位」：究竟是資金、機器等硬件

上的欠缺？還是人手、工作流程等軟件上的限制？另

外，澳洲國家音像資料館亦分享了進行數碼化工作的

經驗，如制式的選擇等，令在座都獲益良多。

一如既往，會議期間特設放映會，播放各個資料

館珍藏的影片片段及修復成果。日本方面帶來了幾段黑

白無聲片，更根據其情節配以電子琴現場伴奏，人物追

逐時配以節奏急促的和弦，海浪風景、靜止畫面則配以

舒緩柔和的音樂，實為一次精彩的觀影經驗。

周樺婷為本館資源中心助理館長

T he 15 t h Sou t heas t As i a -Pac i f i c Aud iov i sua l A rch i ve Assoc i a t i on

(SEAPAVAA) Conference and General Assembly was held in Kuala Lumpur this past June. Hosted by the National Archives of Malaysia this year, the event’s central theme was audiovisual archives management. Over 100 delegates, heritage specialists and industry professionals from 18 countries and regions gathered together.

SEAPAVAA’s 15th anniversary signified a crucial year for the organisation which, apart from the General Assembly, convened for the first time the Pacific SEAPAVAA Conference and Workshop to cement its position in servicing audiovisual archives across the Southeast Asia and Pacific region.

Many attendees pointed out that every year, countless items of audiovisual heritage have disappeared due to physical decay and technical obsolescence. Archives, especially those non-governmental or private entities

with limited backing, should enhance communication on technical and management matters toward achieving the common goal of heritage preservation.

Discussions about digitisation, a must-do task that almost all participants considered, focused on the hows rather than the whys. Jim Lindner, an authority on audiovisual archiving, asserted that before any digitisation or large-scale projects, we should first enact a proper workflow. For instance, should we single out materials most at risk and take care of them first? Or should we start digitising first and skip the screening? The reason is that the screening process, in some extreme cases, can take even more time than the digitising itself; digitisation also sweeps away some pre-existing problems, such as the lack of storage space for archival holdings. It is vitally important to identify in every work plan the ‘bottleneck’ – whether caused by a shortage of funds, hardware, manpower, or other software.

Of particular note is the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia which shared with attendees their digitisation experience, including the selection of storage format, etc. And as usual, this year’s General Assembly showcased film treasures from participating archives and the fruits of their restoration efforts. (Translated by Elbe Lau)

Oval Chow is Assistant Librarian (Resource Centre) of the HKFA.

A Gathering of Minds: Audiovisual Archives Management

影音資料館管理「第十五屆東南亞太平洋影音資料館協會周年大會」紀行

周樺婷 Oval Chow

1 大會上各國代表雲集 Delegates from different nations at the General Assembly2 占姆林德納談影音管理工作 Jim Lindner on audiovisual archiving

1

2

動態 What's On


三十至五十年代在歐美發展的德籍導演麥士奧

福斯（Max Ophuls，1902-1957），作品以出

色的鏡頭調度和講究的形式稱著，藉精密多姿的影

機運動，捕捉一絲不苟的服裝佈景，堪稱電影的風

格家。

本館最近的「修復珍藏」系列，難得取得奧

福斯作品《情海驚魂》（Caught，1949）及《馬

戲團尤物》（Lola Montes，1955）放映，6月5

日舉行的「熱情與絕望─麥士奧福斯電影」座

談會，由本館節目策劃何思穎主持，影評人喬奕

思、劉嶔主講；7月3日的《馬》片映後談則由影評人家明主講。

喬奕思、劉嶔及家明不約而同認為，奧福斯並非一個純技術論者，

其特色長鏡頭也不是「為做而做」，而是精心挑選畫面內容，配合角色

關係發展，意義深長。家明指出，《馬》片是奧福斯唯一一部彩色片及

闊銀幕（Cinemascope）作品，從鏡頭運用上可看出他作了好些調節和

嘗試，例如以闊銀幕充分展示馬戲團內同時進行的多種表演，以及突出

雪地的遼闊；遇有親密的感情戲，則用黑色遮蓋銀幕左右兩邊，令焦點

更集中。

兩部片中，奧福斯對女性的命運同樣寄予同情。家明謂，其作品多

設定在十九世紀的歐洲、華麗而糜爛的貴族背景，著重描繪金玉其外的

醜惡人性。《馬》片正是一例，全片角色冷漠無情，以馬戲團班主為

首；喬奕思認為在奧福斯鏡頭下的女性形象並不完美，而《情》片女主

角的優點缺點同時真實地呈現，可見奧福斯不是個極端的女性主義者。

《情海驚魂》是奧福斯在荷里活發展時期執導的作品，由加州大

學洛杉磯分校電影電視資料館及美國Republic Pictures電影公司合作修

復。《馬戲團尤物》是他的最後遺作，歷年來經多番刪剪後，法國電

影中心獲Technicolor Foundation及版權持有人皮耶布宏伯傑（Pierre

Braunberger）的女兒支持，終於2008年修復成現時的版本，得以重現

銀幕，惟部分刪剪鏡頭已無從尋回。

See HKFA e-Newsletter for English translation.

1 家明談《馬戲團尤物》 Fung Ka-ming on Lola Montès2（左起）何思穎、劉嶔、喬奕思 (From left) Sam Ho, Lau Yam & Joyce Yang

麥士奧福斯 Max Ophüls

Confucius in Beijing

《孔夫子》北京巡映之行

劉文雪 Gladys Lau

Max Ophüls, Stylist of Cinema

麥士奧福斯電影

節目 Programme

本館在2009年的香港國際電影節首次

獻映《孔夫子》（1940）的修復

初版，復於翌年的電影節放映安插了約9

分鐘碎片的《孔夫子》2010年最新修復

版。各場次門票旋即沽清，不少內地及海

外的電影學者及影評人均趨之若鶩，專誠

來港觀影，加上田壯壯導演的推介，《孔

夫子》再現銀幕的消息在中港文化界成一

時佳話。不少海外影展、文化機構及學府

紛紛來鴻，期望《孔夫子》能到海外放

映。我們於是將北京的三個交流機會串

連，並邀請費穆導演的女兒費明儀女士同

行，在五月底一氣呵成地舉辦巡迴放映及

座談。

北京電影學院去年放映時，曾邀得田導來港作座談

會嘉賓，鄭洞天教授等一行北京電影學院

的學者亦隨行交流，回京後力薦此片予研

究生學部系主任楊遠嬰教授，玉成今次在

北京電影學院的放映會。放映會在5月25

日下午於中央放映廳舉行，猶記得開場

前楊教授憂心忡忡，坦言學生普遍熱衷電

影製作及祟尚西方名片，主修電影史及理

論的同學較少，擔憂他們對中國老電影興

趣不大，觀眾稀少，冷落了遠道而來的嘉

賓。結果會場座無虛席，戲院兩側通道、

門廊亦擠滿了觀眾，熱烈參與映前的問答

環節，屏息靜氣凝神觀賞，放映後掌聲如

雷，令我們深受感動。中國電影資料館的

研究員陳墨老師亦應邀參加研討，他熱衷

於費穆的研究，首度觀賞《孔夫子》，甚

為欣喜。

北京大學活動由北京大學電視研究中心主辦，

命名為「影像．歷史．傳媒—費穆電影

《孔夫子》展映與研討」，在5月26日舉

1 2

19

節目 Programme

Confucius in Beijing

《孔夫子》北京巡映之行

19

在北京電影學院的映前研討會：（左起）陳墨、本館節目策劃何思穎、費明儀、楊遠嬰Pre-screening talk at the Beij ing Fi lm Academy: (From left) Chen Mo; Sam Ho, HKFA Programmer; Barbara Fei; Yang Yuanying

行，以北大百周年講堂多功能廳為主

會場，並於另一教學樓設分會場，共

容納約八百名觀眾。北大藝術學院李

道新教授主持研討，參與研討的嘉賓

眾多，包括著名電影史學家李少白教

授、北京中國電影藝術研究中心研究

員酈蘇元、中國藝術研究院電影電視

藝術研究所副所長趙衛防、《電影藝

術》雜誌主編吳冠平等等。本館節目

策劃何思穎先生分享尋獲《孔夫子》

拷貝的經過及艱巨的修復過程，帶出

了電影保育與文化承傳的關係；費明

儀老師憶述其父對藝術創作的嚴謹追

求，與及探訪他拍攝《小城之春》

（1948）的往事，讓觀眾感受到費

導的儒雅氣質、人文精神及父女間的

深厚感情。而內地學者們認為《孔夫

子》對於復興傳統文化，召喚民族精

神有著不可忽視的意義，高度讚揚費

導的氣節，於上海「孤島」時期排除

萬難，以影像承載儒學的精神，振奮

人心。研討會後同學們把握難得的機

會，爭相與費老師合照。

尤倫斯當代藝術中心

尤倫斯當代藝術中心是798藝術

區內最著名的非營利藝術空間之一，

由比利時藝術收藏家尤倫斯夫婦出資

建造。它以舉辦當代藝術展覽為主，

另設藝術影院，定期舉辦國內外導演

的專題影展及影人座談，是北京藝術

電影愛好者的聚腳處。放映在5月27

日週五晚舉行，尤倫斯位於北京四環

內，算是較偏遠，而門票不設網上預

售，但見觀眾下班後風塵僕僕的趕過

來，成功買票後吁一口氣的樣子，讓

我們覺得籌辦巡迴影展再辛苦也是值

得的。

後記是次巡映的三個合辦單位的背景

各異，讓我們接觸到不同的觀眾群：

電影學院的學生對電影語言、攝製及

音樂等有較深刻的觀察；北大的學生

對於傳統文化、儒家學說認識較深，

對電影文本的分析感興趣；尤倫斯的

觀眾有成熟的文化修養，略帶中產氣

息。更有些影迷從網絡得到消息，混

入大專會場，觀眾層面之廣難以估

量。因緣際會，我們更認識了一位特

地由南京跑到北京看《孔夫子》的電

影學生呢！

此行另一大收穫是讓我們瞭解

到北京文藝消息的發放途徑。許多藝

文機構均會透過微博及豆瓣網站等熱

門社交網絡發佈活動消息，集結愛好

藝術的群眾，同時鼓勵開放的討論。

如北大放映會其中一個環節是「微博

互動」，鼓勵童鞋（網絡術語，同學

的諧音，意指同好者）一邊參與研討

會、一邊在網絡上交流意見，虛實互

動！尤倫斯、中國電影資料館及北京

百老匯電影中心均在豆瓣網站開設小

站（專頁）刊載放映詳情，既可補足

瀏覽人次有限的官方網站，亦設討論

區予觀眾發表對節目及選片的意見，

凝聚有機的討論氣氛。北京同業的經

驗對我們節目組在拓展年輕觀眾及節

目宣傳方面有很深的啟發，期望日後

有更多交流機會以擴闊眼界。

我們此行還順道探訪了中國電

影資料館，拜訪了與我們密切合作的

外事處仝人，參觀了剛翻新的各個影

院，同時瞭解他們的影展活動方向、

排片形式及觀眾層面，獲益良多。中

國電影資料館正密鑼緊鼓地籌備明年

舉行的國際電影資料館聯盟（FIAF）

周年大會，在此祝願他們成功！

劉文雪為香港電影資料館節目助理

T he Fi lm Archive presented the

initially-restored cut of Confucius

(1940) back in the 2009 Hong Kong

International Film Festival, followed by

a further-restored cut in 2010. All the

screenings were immediately sold out,

with film scholars and critics from both

mainland and overseas gathering in Hong

Kong. With the ardent recommendation

of director Tian Zhuangzhuang, news

of the film’s reappearance was widely

circulated among the cultural circle.

Since then, there had been an influx of

invitations for overseas screening of the

film from around the world. In view of the

enthusiasm, we incorporated three such

invitations from Beijing into one single

trip. This touring screening complete with

seminars was graced with the presence

of Ms Barbara Fei, daughter of director

Fei Mu, who accompanied us on this

excursion at the end of May.

Beijing Film AcademyDuring the 2010 screening, director Tian

Zhuangzhuang was invited as a guest at

the HKFA seminar. He was accompanied

by a number of scholars from the Beijing

Film Academy including Prof Zheng

Dongtian. Upon their return, the movie

was strongly recommended to Prof

Yang Yuanying who was instrumental in

organising the 25 May screening at the

Academy.

Prof Yang was initially concerned,

as she was aware of the students’

general disposition towards movie

production and preference for Western

classics. With less students majoring

in movie history and theory, the turnout

might be less than stellar. To everyone’s

pleasant surprise, the venue was jam-

packed with audiences spilling into all the

passageways and corridors. Mr Chen Mo

from the China Film Archive was invited to

participate in the seminar.

Peking UniversityHeld on 26 May, the screening event was

titled ‘Image, History, Media: Screening

and Discussion on Confucius by Fei Mu’.

The audience capacity was approximately

800. Prof Li Daoxin was the host of the

discussion, with an impressive lineup of

distinguished speakers including Prof

Li Shaobai, renowned film historian; Li

Suyuan from the China Film Research

Centre; Zhao Weifang from the Chinese

National Academy of Arts; and Wu

Guanping, Chief Editor of the Film Art

magazine.

Sam Ho, HKFA Programmer,

recounted the discovery of Confucius

as well as the arduous restoration

process. Ms Fei recalled fond memories

of her father’s rigorous pursuit of artistic

excellence. Her reminiscences afforded

us a glimpse of Fei Mu’s erudite character

and his passion for humanity. The

mainland scholars cited the significance

of Confucius’ contribution towards reviving

traditional culture and the call for national

spirit. Especially lauded was the integrity of

Fei, who faced insurmountable difficulties

during the ‘Orphan Island’ period to carry

the torch of Confucianism by making the

film.

Ullens Center for Contemporary ArtUCCA is the most renowned non-profit

art space within the Beijing 798 Art

District. Founded by Belgian art collectors

Guy and Myriam Ullens, it holds mainly

contemporary art exhibitions. The UCCA

Art Cinematheque is a popular gathering

place favoured by art film lovers in Beijing

where screenings and discussions are

held regularly.

Our screening took place on 27

May, a Friday night. At the relatively more

obscure locale of Beijing’s 4th Ring Road,

we were also aware that the screening

did not offer online advanced booking.

However, upon observing the satisfying

sigh of relief from audiences who secured

the tickets after what must have been a

hectic day at work, we realised that our

effort in planning and organising this trip

had not been wasted.

AfterwordThe three joint organisers in this trip had

diversely different backgrounds, and

provided us distinct perspectives of

the audiences at large: students from

the Film Academy have more profound

observations towards film language,

production and music; Peking University

students have deeper understanding of

traditional culture and Confucianism, with

interests towards the analysis of film texts;

the audience at UCCA tend to be more

cultured, and ostensibly middle-class in

demographics. In addition, some of the

film buffs got hold of the news through

Internet and came to the university

grounds, widening the audience range.

We even made acquaintance with an

enthusiastic film student from Nanjing

who travelled to Beijing just to attend the

screening.

Another valuable insight gained

is the dissemination of cultural news

within Beijing. Many arts organisations

announce their events and activities

through social media such as weibo and

douban. They are effective channels

in assembling the art-loving public as

well as encouraging open discussions.

Part of the screening event at Peking

University was ‘Weibo Interaction’ which

encouraged tongxie, or enthusiasts to

take part in the seminar while exchanging

views online simultaneously. UCCA, China

Film Archive and the Beijing Broadway

Cinematheque all host specific group

page (dedicated webpage) in publishing

their show times and detail. Acting as

complement to the official website, the

group page allows audiences to share

their candid opinion on programmes and

movie selections. The experience gained

from our Beijing peers provided inspiration

for our Programming Unit in expanding

our younger audience and enriching our

promotion strategy. (Translated by Richard Lee)

Gladys Lau is Programme Assistant of the HKFA.

© 2011 HKFA 非賣品 Not for Sale

在北大的映後研討會：（左起）李道新、酈蘇元、何思穎、吳冠平、趙衛防Post-screening talk at the Peking University: (From left) Li Daoxin, Li Suyuan, Sam Ho, Wu Guanping, Zhao Weifang

尤倫斯藝術影院主管謝萌（左）及何思穎Xie Meng (left), Director of Programs of UCCA Art Cinema, and Sam Ho

參觀中國電影資料館：（左起）本館項目研究員劉嶔、何思穎、中國電影資料館外事處處長劉東、本館節目助理劉文雪At the China Film Archive: (From left) Lau Yam, HKFA Project Researcher; Sam Ho; Liu Dong, Director of International Cooperation Division, China Film Archive; Gladys Lau, HKFA Programme Assistant

Newsletter 57 - 香港電影資料館

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Transcript of Newsletter 57 - 香港電影資料館